Hiring doesn’t begin on an employee’s first day- it starts the moment they say “yes” to your offer. That’s where your pre-onboarding process makes all the difference.
According to data from Click Boarding, employees who go through a strong onboarding experience are 50% greater than new hire retention.
For fast-scaling Indian startups, the days between offer acceptance and joining are often ignored or mismanaged. But this is exactly where you can build early trust, reduce no-shows, and give new hires the confidence that they’ve made the right choice.
That’s what the pre onboarding process is all about, setting expectations, aligning tools, and making sure your team is ready before Day 1 even begins. And when done right, it doesn’t just make HR’s life easier; it strengthens compliance, improves payroll accuracy, and saves hours in back-and-forth emails.
This article walks you through what pre-onboarding means, key steps to get it right, and how modern HR-tech platforms can help you automate it without the admin burden. Let’s get started.
Preonboarding starts after offer acceptance and sets the stage for a confident Day 1.
It improves retention by building early connection, clarity, and momentum.
A strong preonboarding process handles docs, IT, and people ops before the first login.
Craze automates preonboarding workflows across HR, finance, and IT—no spreadsheets, no missed steps.
You can track key preonboarding metrics to reduce dropouts and improve hiring efficiency.
Preonboarding (or pre-onboarding) refers to the organisation-led process that begins after a candidate accepts an offer and continues until their first working day, preparing both the hire and the company for a smooth start.
It focuses on keeping the candidate engaged, reducing dropouts, and preparing them for a smooth start. Unlike onboarding, which begins after the employee’s first day, pre-onboarding starts as soon as the offer is rolled out and accepted.
Preonboarding aims to
Maintain Engagement Before Day One
In fast-growing Indian startups, offer dropouts are real. Preonboarding helps you stay connected with new hires so they don’t drift away. A few check-ins, access to your org chart, or a personalised “Welcome” mail can go a long way in preventing no-shows.Prepare New Hires with the Right Information
Sharing policies, reporting structures, and key contacts beforehand builds confidence. It allows employees to settle in faster and focus on contribution, not just orientation. Preonboarding ensures that your team walks in prepared, not confused.
Preonboarding vs. Onboarding: What’s the Difference?
Both are part of the same journey, but they serve different purposes. Preonboarding sets the stage; onboarding builds on it.
Criteria | Preonboarding | Onboarding |
Overview | Starts after offer acceptance, ends before Day 1 | Starts from Day 1 and continues for 30–90 days |
Objective | Keep the candidate engaged and informed | Equip them for long-term success in the role |
Activities | Welcome emails, paperwork, IT setup, policy sharing | Training, goal setting, manager meetings |
Skipping pre-onboarding is like skipping the first step in a staircase, you can still climb, but it’s clumsy and slow. Let’s now look at the importance of the pre-onboarding process so you know how it can help your organisation.
A signed offer letter doesn’t guarantee a successful hire, it’s just the beginning. Without the right pre-onboarding experience, new joiners can feel disconnected, unsure, or overwhelmed before they even start.
Here’s why a strong pre-onboarding program matters more than most employers realise:
Prevents feelings of neglect and reconsideration of job acceptance
When new hires don’t hear from you for weeks, doubt sets in. They may question your company’s culture or reliability. Preonboarding bridges this silence with clarity, check-ins, and a sense of belonging even before Day 1.
Increases retention by fostering a sense of belonging and excitement
Engaged employees are less likely to leave early. Sending a welcome video from the founder, a virtual coffee invite with the team, or just a Slack channel add-in builds anticipation. It reminds them that they’re part of something meaningful, and that they matter.
Reduces likelihood of backing out before the start date
In competitive hiring markets, especially for tech and leadership roles, counter-offers are common. Preonboarding keeps your offer “top of mind” and helps emotionally anchor the hire to your team. That emotional buy-in often outweighs small monetary bumps elsewhere.
Gets administrative tasks out of the way
PAN details, PF forms, device allocations, it’s better done early than squeezed into Day 1. Preonboarding clears the clutter, so your employee’s first day isn’t spent toggling between forms, emails, and HR calls. It also reduces errors that often creep into payroll or compliance filings when done last-minute.
A structured pre-onboarding program tells your new hire, “We’re ready for you,” and that message carries weight. Especially in fast-moving teams, it’s not just about being polite, it’s about protecting your hiring effort.
Experience seamless pre-onboarding and much more with Craze’s all-in-one HR software platform, designed to simplify your HR, payroll, finance, and compliance workflows while keeping your new hires engaged from day one.
Why the Pre-Onboarding Phase Sets the Tone for Success
Many firms that offer a formal pre‑boarding process report up to an 82% increase in new hire retention, while also significantly reducing the number of hires who never show up on Day 1.
For CEOs and CHROs building fast-moving teams, pre-onboarding isn’t just admin, it’s strategy. It’s your first opportunity to demonstrate how your company communicates, operates, and values people. Done well, it signals that your systems are tight, your team is ready, and your new hire is stepping into a well-run organisation.
Preonboarding isn’t just a task list, it’s a process that reflects how your company thinks, plans, and operates. A good strategy ensures nothing falls through the cracks, and more importantly, that your new hire walks in confident, not confused.
Identify the key steps
Start by mapping every touchpoint between offer letter and joining day. That includes documentation, device provisioning, IT access, welcome communication, and internal team notifications. Assign owners to each task so nothing gets delayed or missed.
Get an HR tool for pre onboarding
Manual coordination over WhatsApp and spreadsheets leads to errors and missed deadlines. Use a people ops suite like Craze that brings HR, payroll, IT, and admin under one dashboard. It keeps all stakeholders in sync with automated alerts and shared visibility.
Start automating
Automate what doesn’t need human judgment- ID collection, PF form generation, IT app access, and role-based approvals. When workflows are automated, tasks get done on time without eating into HR bandwidth. Plus, it reduces compliance risk from missed filings or incomplete paperwork.
Pro Tip: Use HR automation tools like Craze to streamline document collection, IT app provisioning, and role-based approvals—saving time and ensuring accuracy.
Include a survey in your preonboarding
A quick pre-joining survey helps you understand how the new hire is feeling before they even join. Ask about expectations, preferred communication styles, or if they need relocation or tech support. It signals that you're listening and planning ahead.
Identify your primary KPIs & metrics
Preonboarding isn’t just qualitative, it has measurable outcomes. Track offer-to-join ratio, admin task completion rate, IT provisioning time, and early turnover. These metrics give CEOs and CHROs a clear view into where things are working and where they’re breaking.
Now that you’ve got the strategy, it’s time to operationalise it. Here are the steps for an effective preonboarding process you can roll out today.
Even the best strategy will fall flat without clear execution. Preonboarding works only when the experience feels consistent, well-timed, and frictionless, for both the hire and your internal teams.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the steps that can help you set up pre-onboarding without adding more overhead:
Share the Offer and Welcome Note
Send the offer letter and personalised welcome email as the first touchpoint.
A short note from the founder or manager builds trust and signals company culture early.
Complete Documentation and Background Checks
Provide all pre-employment documents and policies in a secure, easy-to-access format.
Run background checks early to avoid delays later.
Tools like Craze automate document collection, verification, and compliance forms to reduce manual effort and errors.
Enable HR & Payroll System Access
Give logins to your HRMS and payroll systems ahead of time.
This lets employees update personal details, complete compliance declarations, and review their CTC structure before joining.
Prepare IT and Workspace Setup
Arrange laptops, software access, email IDs, and folder permissions in advance.
For remote hires, ship devices at least 5–7 days before joining with clear setup instructions.
For onsite roles, have the desk, monitor, and credentials ready before their first day.
Build Early Engagement
Introduce new hires to their team through a short virtual call.
Assign a buddy or mentor for first-week guidance.
Organise an informal virtual hangout or Friday quiz session to help them experience your culture.
Share Resources and First-Day Plan
Provide handbooks and guides about culture, policies, and team structures in a simple, digestible format.
Send a first-day email outlining the schedule, people they’ll meet, and login instructions. This removes uncertainty and reduces anxiety.
Set Goals and Expectations
Share a 30-60-90 day plan to give clarity on what success looks like in the first three months.
Use templates and involve managers to make expectations realistic and aligned with team priorities.
Keep Communication Ongoing
Stay connected with quick check-ins through calls, emails, or Slack to reduce offer dropouts.
Ask for feedback through short surveys to continuously refine the pre-onboarding process.
For a better experience, you can use HR automation platforms like Craze to streamline pre-onboarding. From document collection and payroll form generation to IT access and role-based approvals, Craze ensures every step is completed on time without adding overhead to HR.
Manual preonboarding might work when you’re hiring one person a quarter, but it won’t scale. Craze helps HR teams take the load off without missing the personal touch. Here’s how:
Centralised Core HR to manage all preonboarding data in one place
Craze’s Core HR module acts as the system of record, capturing everything from ID proofs to joining dates. No more scattered spreadsheets or email threads, just one live dashboard that updates in real time.
Role-based access and approval workflows for compliance and speed
You can configure approval chains for each department, whether it’s for device allocation, PF form validation. Craze gives you the kind of granular access control usually reserved for enterprise suites, without the complexity.
Auto-generate documents, offer letters, and IT asset logs
Craze lets you use pre-approved templates to generate offer letters, policy documents, and IT checklists instantly. It eliminates manual document prep and ensures consistent compliance with Indian labour laws from Day 0.
Seamless app provisioning and asset tracking for IT teams
Assign apps, track devices, and control access with Craze’s built-in IT module. Whether your team uses Slack, Zoho, or Google Workspace, you can auto-assign tools based on the new hire’s role, reducing onboarding time for IT admins.
Automated payroll linking and compliance setup before Day 1
Preonboarding flows directly into payroll, so once the offer is accepted, their profile is already compliant- PF, TDS, ESIC, everything. You won’t have to chase down PAN cards or miss deadlines on statutory filings.
Live support and zero setup delays
Need to onboard quickly? Craze customers report setup and first payroll in under 24 hours. Plus, your HR team gets direct access to founders and support, no ticket queues or delayed resolutions.
Preonboarding doesn’t have to be a manual grind or an afterthought. With Craze, you can turn it into a repeatable, high-trust process that runs quietly in the background, while your team focuses on building great products and culture. Book a demo now!
Preonboarding isn’t just a checkbox before Day 1. It’s the first real impression your company makes after the offer is signed. A strong preonboarding process builds confidence, prevents drop-offs, and helps new hires show up ready, not reactive. It sets the tone for how your organisation communicates, operates, and treats its people.
If you’re looking to simplify and scale this across teams, Craze gives you everything you need—automated flows, one-click compliance, IT setup, and HR + payroll integration—all in one place. No setup fees. No lock-ins. Just one clean system that works from offer to onboarding.
Try Craze today and give every new hire the experience your brand deserves. Book a demo now!
When should the pre onboarding process begin?
It should start right after the candidate accepts your offer, not on their joining day. This early window builds trust and reduces dropouts.
How does preboarding help reduce offer dropouts?
By maintaining contact, sharing resources, and showing readiness, it builds trust and reduces second thoughts.
What should be included in a pre onboarding checklist?
Welcome email, documentation, background checks, device setup, HRMS login, and team introductions.
Can preboarding be automated?
Yes. HR automation tools like Craze automate documents, IT access, form collection, and workflows to reduce manual effort.
How do I measure if my pre onboarding process is effective?
Track metrics like offer-to-join ratio, task completion rates, and early attrition. Feedback surveys also reveal process gaps and improvements.
